November 23, 2006

The other title for this entry is “Zune vs iPod, Wii vs PS3, Safeway vs Safeway”. Why?

iPods are made by Apple, which is in Cupertino. PS3s are made by Sony which has a big site in North San Jose. Bay Area companies.

Zunes on the other hand are made by Microsoft in Redmond, WA. Coincidentally, Wii’s are made by Nintendo – which is also in Redmond, WA!

But these places have one thing in common: Safeway. So thanks to a reader, I thought I’d investigate to see what the difference between the Safeways are. Here’s a table comparing the prices of common Thanksgiving items:

First, we’ll start with a turkey…

Here’s a turkey in Nintendo/Microsoft land:

… and the same turkey in Sony/Apple land:

Here’s some milk in Nintendo/Microsoft land:

… and the same turkey in Sony/Apple land:

Item

Bay Area

Redmond

Difference

Turkey

$7.99

$4.00

100%

Yellow Onions

$0.30

$0.15

100%

Celery

$1.00

$1.00

0%

Cranberries

$2.50

$2.00

25%

Oranges

$1.34

$1.79

-25%

Garlic

$0.50

$0.50

0%

Lemons

$0.99

$0.89

11%

Green Beans

$2.49

$1.79

39%

Pork Sausage

$3.49

$3.19

9%

Eggs

$4.75

$3.49

36%

Milk

$3.49

$2.40

45%

Corn

$0.79

$0.75

5%

Olive Oil

$8.39

$5.39

56%

Chicken Broth

$0.60

$1.09

-45%

Flour

$1.00

$1.00

0%

Sugar

$3.09

$2.50

24%

Ginger

$1.20

$0.80

50%

Pecans

$8.50

$7.40

15%

Salt

$2.79

$2.99

-7%

Rosemary

$2.72

$3.21

-15%

Honey

$7.79

$7.01

11%

Black Olives

$0.80

$0.79

1%

Green Onion

$0.99

$0.79

25%

Pumpkin Pie

$4.99

$5.49

-9%

Spinach

$3.69

$3.29

12%

Grape Jelly

$3.39

$2.23

52%

Butter

$3.00

$2.50

20%

Biscuits

$2.79

$2.39

17%

Tomatoes

$0.63

$0.75

-16%

Orange Juice

$6.59

$6.29

5%

Potatoes

$3.99

$2.99

33%

Carrots

$0.79

$0.79

0%

Rice

$4.80

$3.85

25%

Grey Poupon

$4.29

$3.29

30%

French Fries

$3.99

$3.29

21%

Ketchup

$3.59

$2.59

39%

Stuffing

$3.21

$2.18

47%

Ham

$7.49

$6.99

7%

Average difference: 20% more expensive

(Just to be clear – these were the exact same products on both sides. Same brand, same quality, same count – everything. You can verify the results easily using Safeway.com)

So now you know why the PS3 and iPod are so expensive, compared to the Wii and the Zune. Because the groceries are more expensive too. 🙂
Want to save money on your groceries? Easy! Leave the Bay Area for some place that’s not special like Seattle metro area.

Disclaimer

The posts on this weblog are provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confer no rights. The opinions expressed herein are my own personal opinions and only represent the view of Burbed.com's editor. Comments are the views of commenters, not Burbed. If companies, properties, etc are mentioned on this blog, you should assume that I have a financial stake in them. Trust no one.